Oslo, Oct 10 (THAINDIAN NEWS) In a surprise and shocking development, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee announced yesterday that the US President Barack Obama had been honored with the Nobel Peace prize for 2009.

According to the Nobel Committee said he won it for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples”.

The committee highlighted Mr. Obama’s efforts to support international bodies and promote nuclear disarmament, as well as he gave a big boost and a shot in the arm to international diplomacy.

The Nobel Peace Prize selection committee said that the decision to choose Obama was a unanimous choice.

Praise came from Afghanistan’s president, the Israeli defense minister and even a senior official from Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza. Yet an Egyptian human rights activist said he was “shocked” that Obama won. And the Internet hummed with a range of views, which ranged from plain mockery on Twitter to humble praise and even the opinion that all this was very premature.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised the choice with his words, “We congratulate, wholeheartedly, President Obama on the award of this prestigious award,” said Karzai, who commended Obama’s “vision and leadership.”

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he believes the prize “will strengthen President Barack Obama’s capability to contribute to regional peace in the Middle East, and to an agreement between us and the Palestinians that will bring security, growth and prosperity to all the nations in the region.”

In another noble gesture, US President Barack Obama said that he is going to donate the prize money to charity.